Watching the Stars
by LoquitorLatinae
Summary: Oneshot for "Chasing the Moon" 'verse. Wolf Shifters Charles and Erik have survived Hydra's experiments and along the way adopted a small pack of children. Now they are just trying to manage living with "gifted" children, dealing with SHIELD's intrusions, and working through their own traumatic memories. Shifter, A/B/O AU.


Companion oneshot to my "Chasing the Moon" series! This oneshot follows Charles and Erik's daily life after Chapter 3 of "Tracking the Sun." This was fun to write so I hope you enjoy! :D

* * *

"Well, now that wasn't too difficult, was it?" Charles hummed as wheeled himself back into the manor.

"It probably could have gone worse, but I'm still changing the access code on the gate."

It was as much of an agreement as Charles knew he was going to get from Erik. Meeting Agent Rogers and Mr. Stark had been enlightening but Charles did not have to read his mate's mind to know that the alpha would have preferred to be left alone. But that was his own fault really. Erik had become too accustomed to being the only adult alpha in their family that any hint of matured testosterone was enough to get his hackles up.

Even now, agitation was still radiating off Erik in waves. Charles could even feel his wheelchair trembling slightly, which meant that Erik was truly rattled. While he came away from Hydra with empathic abilities, Erik had been affected differently. It had been scientifically proven (Charles knew, he had done his research recently), that many animals have magnetic cells that kept them attuned to the earth's magnetic fields. Somehow, whatever they spliced Erik with, Charles suspected Shark, had dramatically enhanced that natural ability in him to the point where Erik was not just super-sensitive to all metals around him, but was actually slightly polarized himself, though the strength of his own magnetism seemed to vary on his emotional state. With practice, Erik could probably improve his control over this ability, but Erik didn't seem interested, the alpha more focused on what made him a Wolf. Still, sometimes, like now, his magnetism came out unintentionally.

"Honestly, Erik. They've left the property." When the lean Wolf just huffed, Charles reached out to touch his hand. The force of their bond flowed across the physical contact and Charles used his empathic ability to encourage his calm into his mate. Erik dutifully relaxed his muscles somewhat, though the stern frown was still on his lips. Charles's wheelchair stopped shaking, though, which was an improvement.

"It's still hard…letting strangers into our territory."

"I know, darling, but we need to expose ourselves to it little by little. And they were a lovely couple to host, we should have them over again someday. I would love to meet their son."

"I could do without Stark. And Rogers was scenting too much for my taste." There was a growled undertone to that statement and Charles felt a flush touch his cheeks.

"Erik, my heat doesn't start until next week, he couldn't have smelt much."

"He got a mouthful of enough to get him salivating."

"Steve was merely curious and you shouldn't be too judgmental of Mr. Stark. Now, pull yourself together, Sean and Kitty are waking up and you know how they react to your moods."

Erik snorted but physically shook off the rest of his tension, making Charles smile. It wasn't even months ago that Erik was a tight coil of paranoia and rage. A good deal of that pain had been alleviated when they mated, but Charles would like to think that the children also helped to settle the alpha out. As much as he fought against traditional Shifter roles and gender stereotypes, there was an irrefutable biological drive for mated Wolves to have children. Studies showed that it helped to balance the hormonal levels of both partners, giving the alpha something to focus on other than his omega and the omega something to tend to beyond a stubborn alpha.

"Hey, are those two gone?"

Charles blinked out of his thoughts then smiled as Raven stuck her head into the foyer. "Yes, the coast is clear. Hello, Kitty, how was your nap?"

The three-year-old little Wolf giggled as she climbed onto his lap, her movements, as always near invisible ever since Hydra chemically erased her scent markers. A moment later, Sean tumbled down the stairs, red hair wild and tussled as he wandered over to the group. Charles would be lying if he said he didn't have a soft-spot for his two youngest—but then again, he had a soft spot for all his children for one reason or another. There was just something about toddlers, however, that required cuddling. Used to the practice and ever the docile little beta, Kitty calmly settled in the small groove between his left hip and the arm of the wheelchair.

Sean, meanwhile, was currently trying to climb up Raven's legs, grunting through his struggles until the blue woman gave in and hauled him onto her shoulders. Sean was always trying to climb something to get as high as he could. It made sense, considering he was a Bird Shifter, but Charles still found it disconcerting to find the boy in horrifically high niches of the manor. Hydra had destroyed his ability to Shift, but Charles worried Sean might someday try to jump anyway out of curiosity. Charles just tried to make sure the young boy was always supervised.

Putting his fingers to his temple to increase his concentration, Charles directed his bond connection momentarily away from Erik and upstairs to find Hank still in the playroom. He sent the teenager a small metal prod then connected back to Erik. It was getting easier to use his empathic abilities, but he found that the only way to make a two-way connection was to use the bond. Ever since the first time he had tried it (and hadn't that been a debacle?), Erik had grown accustomed to the momentary breaks of connection. Of course, Erik had also told him that the breaks could last no longer than a minute, but a minute was usually much longer than he ever needed.

Sure enough, Hank soon peeked tentatively into the room, blue-gray fur bristling in wary curiosity. The poor dear had been stuck mid-transformation by Hydra's experiments. Thankfully, he looked more like a muscular teddy bear than anything else, if you looked past the fangs and claws, but it was still a little too much for most people to brush aside. Raven, on the other hand, was able to shift into a Human form, though her natural form now sported blue scales and golden eyes, so she happily came and went as she pleased. Of course, as an adult, she was hardly beholden to their house rules like the children were, but Charles was still happy to have her.

Speaking of which, "Raven, thank you for helping Hank watch the children while SHIELD visited. It turned out to be unnecessary, but I appreciate it nonetheless."

"You know I would've been here anyway while someone from SHIELD was here." She and Erik shared a vocal distaste for the Shifter agency. "Not that I don't trust you, Hank."

Hank shuffled his feet, a bit of a blush touching behind the fur on his cheeks. "S'okay. It was nice to have company while the pups slept."

Raven smiled, the expression turning to a wince when Sean pulled at her vibrant red hair. "In any case, good luck with this guy. He found some candy upstairs. Pretty sure it was Alex's, but he'll be bouncing off the walls in five minutes, I promise."

"Well, perhaps I will take the pups outside while Erik goes to pick up the children. Hank, would you care to join me?"

Hank quickly nodded, making Charles smile. The young beta was only thirteen-years-old but a pleasure to spend time with. Immediately, Sean had launched himself off of Raven and landed on Hank's back. To the older boy's credit, he only twitched as Sean tugged at his fur, wiggling until he was perched as he liked. He grabbed at Hank's left ear and called out, "I call the swings!"

Kitty perked up, "I want to swing too!"

"Not if I get there first!"

With that, Sean was off like a shot, tumbling off of Hank's shoulders and all but sprinting for the back door. Crying out, Kitty fumbled off of Charles lap and was quickly after him, Hank not a few steps behind.

Raven had already disappeared upstairs to change so Charles motioned for Erik to come down to his level. Erik dutifully stooped over, rumbling happily when his mate pecked him on the lips, "What was that for?"

"Just because."

Erik pressed their lips together again, nipping at Charles's bottom lip as he pulled away. "Will I get to see some of this 'just because' later?"

Charles just smiled which was all the encouragement Erik needed because he grinned wide. The alpha's natural grin had been called intimidating by more than one person but Charles thought it was dashing. He couldn't help but kiss his mate once more before gently pushing Erik back. "Perhaps you should go get the children before we lose track of the time."

"Will you be okay with the pups?"

"I'm not the one that will soon have a car full of energetic little ones."

Erik snorted and shook his head but didn't say anything. Charles didn't have to read his mind to know that as little as Erik expressed his love vocally, he was proud of his brood. That didn't, of course, mean that he would be lenient with them if they got too rowdy on the car ride.

"Do you want me to pick anything up on the way back? Dinner?"

"You know the state of our food supplies better than me, darling." Omegas stereotypically ruled over the kitchen but Charles would be the first to admit that he was rubbish at cooking. He always had been, growing up with cooks and butlers did that to you, but Erik and Hank both enjoyed preparing food. Hank because it was a different type of chemistry and Erik because seeing his family eat filled the alpha's chest with a warm feeling that Charles could only describe as a bittersweet longing overshadowed by fulfillment.

"I'll pick up something on the way then."

"I look forward to it. Thank you." Pushing himself up as high as he could get, Charles pecked Erik once more on the lips then smiled, "Now, I'd better head outside. Sean just got very excited and I'd hate to leave that to Hank."

Erik nodded, the alpha squeezing Charles's shoulder as he rolled past. Sure enough, when Charles got outside, Sean had climbed onto the swing set. Hank was standing below the little redhead, wringing his paws with Kitty beside him. Sean saw him first, a wide grin lighting his face, "Daddy! Wanna watch me?"

"I am watching. But is that how we play with the swings, Sean?"

Sean's nose wrinkled a little then he frowned and shuffled his feet. "No…"

"Well come down so we can play with it properly. Kitty and Hank both came out here to use it too, after all."

"Fine…"

Charles smiled then gasped as Sean jumped down, unable to anticipate the move when Sean hadn't really thought about it. The omega lurched forward in his chair, an inch from falling out of it but he stopped when Hank sprang forward with Wolf speed and snagged the little Bird out of the air. Heart pounding in his chest, Charles waved Hank over, trying to calm his breathing as the teenager dutifully deposited Sean onto his lap.

Taking a moment to run his fingers through Sean's curly red hair, Charles sucked in a deep breath then turned a stern look onto the four-year-old. "Sean, what were you thinking?"

Sean's bottom lip wobbled, "You said get down."

"I did." Pinching the bridge of his nose, "But Sean, you could have been seriously hurt. That bar was very high up, what did you think would happen?"

Sean was quiet for a moment and Charles took a second to see that Hank had taken Kitty off onto the lawn to play. Then he turned his full attention back to the young boy in his lap. Sniffing, Sean swiped his arm across his nose. "I thought that I would maybe shift before I got to the ground."

"Oh, Sean," wrapping an arm around Sean's waist, Charles pulled him against his chest.

Sean wiggled back until he was wedged under the omega's arm and the back corner of the wheelchair. "…Alex can still shift."

"But he is one of the few, Sean, that is still able to." And it wasn't willingly, either. Alex was a natural beta, but from what they could tell from Hydra's records, alpha DNA had been introduced into his system. Whenever he became emotional, there was now a chance Alex would spontaneously shift, and all of the alpha had gone into his wolf side and it was dangerously unstable. Shifted Alex wasn't just angry, the wolf was destructive chaos. It destroyed anything in its path without any logic until it exhausted itself and shifted back. What most distressed Charles about it all was that Alex in his shifted form didn't respond reliably enough to the same calming techniques he used on Erik. This usually left Erik with the burden of containing the young Wolf, though Scott often tried to help and Armando had stepped in twice recently, young as he was.

"It is better that you do not have to shift as Alex does." A wild bird would be more than Charles could probably handle. "We should all be happy that we are able to enjoy what we can. Like playing outside. Now, I think Kitty wants to play with you. Why don't you steal her from Hank and send him back here to sit with me?"

At the mention of playing, Sean had perked back up and by the time Charles had finished talking, the young boy was already climbing off his wheelchair and in the next moment was sprinting across the grass. He eagerly shooed Hank away and soon enough the teenager was at Charles's side. "That was a close one," he rumbled.

"Not too close, thankfully. You have excellent reflexes, Hank."

Hank smiled weakly. "Thanks, but I was also the one who turned my back on him for more than ten seconds."

"That's hardly your responsibility. But would you care to join me for a quick talk? With the little ones busy, this could be a perfect time to talk about your studies."

Hank nodded and followed after Charles to the patio table, taking one of the metal chairs as Charles pulled up beside him. "Alright," Charles said, "Did you do your biology reading like I requested?"

Hank nodded, "I did, and I was wondering if we could learn more about chromosomes and genetic variances? The book only barely touched on it, but it sounded fascinating and I know that's your specialty?"

Charles grinned. Hank was only thirteen-years-old, but Charles already knew the beta would be a kindred spirit. "Certainly, Hank. But before we get into the good stuff, why don't we talk about Byron?"

"Oh, the poetry." Hank leaned back in his chair, his short ears flicking back. "Well, I read it, mostly. It seemed…a little brooding?"

With a soft chuckle, Charles nodded. "Oh, yes. He was quite the brooding author. A fascinating life though. But thank you for reading it, I like to make sure that I am giving you a decent education in all fields of interest rather than just a science background."

Hank nodded. "I think you're doing great!" His voice caught at his own enthusiasm and he looked down at his hands, his paws. "I'm just thankful you're here to teach me…"

"Hank…" Charles set his hand on the young Wolf's furry arm. "We're all helping each other here, one way or another. I don't know how we'd manage without you." Seeing that Hank had ducked his head bashfully at the praise, Charles smiled, "Now back to poetry…"

They stayed in the back yard for almost an hour. It was longer than they usually got for Hank's studies, which was pleasant, but Kitty and Sean were somehow able to keep themselves occupied, happy enough to just be outside. In truth, he and Hank usually didn't need too much time usually. Hank was mostly teaching himself through readings selected by Charles, with short times throughout the day set aside for discussion. Charles liked to think that though this manner of education was strange for someone who should be in middle school, it was how people had been learning for centuries and was how college still basically went. The best part of their "classes" together was when they could steal away to their makeshift laboratory for a chemistry lesson. It was really just the basement of the manor, but they could spend all day down there if the rest of the house allowed them the time. Charles knew from Hank's enthusiasm that he and Erik would eventually need to invest in some real equipment, but that would just give them a long list of things for birthdays and holidays.

At the moment though, they were just finishing their discussion on Calculus when Charles sensed familiar presences entering the property. "Excuse me, Hank, but it looks as if our talk ends here for the moment. Erik just returned with the others."

Hank nodded, knowing full well how Erik got after an hour-long trip with five children in the car. "I'll stay out here and watch Sean and Kitty if you want."

"That would be perfect, thank you."

Wheeling back into the house, Charles made it to the foyer just as the front door slammed open. More specifically, it was kicked open by Alex, whose arms were full of shopping bags and back was hunched under a big backpack. He was closely followed by his older brother who was equally laden down, both of the young Wolves grunting out a "Hello, Dad," before they tottered toward the kitchen.

Jean and Armando were next, the male Wolf's arms unnaturally thick as he carried in what looked to be a thirty pound sack of flour. Charles would have offered to take the load but he knew that at the moment Armando was stronger than he was. While he and Jean shared similar empathetic abilities, Armando had been spliced with so many different DNA profiles it was nothing short of a miracle that he hadn't died in the laboratory. What he survived with was a subconscious ability to pick traits of virtually any animal to suit his needs. The amazing thing was that he was learning to shift just parts of his body depending on the situation—and it looked as if Erik had taken advantage of his training to pass the buck on carrying the heaviest item into the house.

But no, Erik was actually carrying Anna Marie, the seven-year-old propped onto his hip. Her poisonous fingertips were thankfully safely encased in her ever-present leather gloves as she had her arms wrapped tightly around Erik's neck. His mate grunted when he saw Charles, detaching Anna Marie and depositing her on the ground. The little girl instantly grasped at Charles' pants as Erik murmured. "Apparently Anna Marie got into a fight today in school."

"She did?" Usually it was Alex.

"Explain what happened."

Anna Marie squirmed under the alpha's command even though it had been given gently. "…Someone pulled my ponytail so I punched them in the face."

Charles pursed his lips to keep from smiling at the mental image. It would have been easy to blame the behavior on her four older "brothers," but Anna Marie had come to them as a spitfire with a vocabulary rivaling any one of the boys'. "Anna Marie, you know that we do not solve our problems by hitting—it always makes the problem worse. Now you know what happens when you break the house rules, and yes, they count even when out of the house." Charles pointed to the doorway into the parlor. It was one of the more formal, and therefore boring, rooms in the house and perfect for timeouts. "Seven minutes. Vati or I will come get you after your time is up."

The young Wolf was sniffling but dutifully trudged into the parlor. They waited until she was out of sight before Charles asked. "Did she hurt the other child badly?" Charles asked.

"Apparently he got a bloody nose or something. It was a _Human_ so there was extra drama but I took care of it."

Charles frowned, "Erik."

"Charles, don't. I only used my words, you would have been proud." The sneer spoke volumes about Erik's thoughts on his decision. "I wouldn't have wanted to hit someone myself then get _put down_."

Charles pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Honestly, the one thing he would change about his mate was his unyielding prejudice against Humans. On occasion, they could have fantastic debates about certain facets on Human-Shifter relations but other times, Erik just spat out his hatred for the entire species, which was just ridiculous. Still, Charles could already feel his own agitation itching to argue, so he swallowed down his lecture on treating people fairly and said instead, "Next time this happens, give me a ring and I'll take care of it, for the sake of both your and the teacher's nerves."

It wasn't quite a command, omegas didn't have the same tone in their make-up as alphas did, but Charles meant it as one. Erik snorted but gave a quick nod and Charles broke into a soft smile.

"Thank you. Now, welcome home."

"It's good to be back," Erik rumbled, tension falling from his body as he leaned down to press a kiss to Charles's temple. "Do you want homework or training before dinner?"

"Today feels like a homework day for me. Hank and I spent some time together after you left and now I'd like to see what the other children are up to."

On weekdays, the children either had two options between school ending and dinner: they could either do their homework, or train with their new abilities. Charles and Erik switched off who was in charge of what for the afternoon. It wasn't quite as bad as it sounded, usually it was only one or two hours long. Not to mention SHIELD had all but mandated half an hour of physical therapy daily for some of their children to acclimate them to their new situation, so it was a good time to sneak that into the children's schedule without being too clinical about it.

The rest of the afternoon went smoothly. After making sure everyone got a snack to keep their attention and energy up, Charles set himself up in the sitting room adjacent to the back patio. It was the sunniest part of the house and was the most lived-in room downstairs since it held both the television and the majority of the children's toys. Charles enjoyed how vibrant it felt compared to the rest of the formal atmosphere of the place and, other than his study, it was one of his favorite rooms. From where he sat at the work table, he could also see outside to where Erik was working with Hank, Sean, and Darwin outside on the lawn. Inside, Scott, Alex, Jean, Kitty, and Anna Marie (who was still somewhat sullen after her time out) were crowded around the table with Charles. Without homework to do, Kitty was just coloring in her coloring book, but it was a quiet, indoor activity and she loved to be with the other children.

Between helping Alex with his mathematics, Anna Marie with her reading, and Jean with her little biology lesson—it had tickled Charles to see what 5th grade Biology was like—the afternoon passed quickly. Before he knew it, Erik was coming back inside at 5:00 to begin making dinner. Hank followed after him to help and Raven sauntered down from her room about 15 minutes later, all dolled up and blond for a night on the town, to lend a hand.

Dinner was always an affair at the manor. Perhaps it was just natural chaos when one had eight children and three adults at a table together, but when they had adopted all of the children Charles's requirements for dinner had quickly plummeted to: make sure everyone puts some food in their mouth and keep damage to persons and property at a minimum. The low expectations kept his own stress levels down and allowed him to enjoy the food. To his left and at the head of the table, Erik tried to exert a little more control over the situation with varying success.

Today, luckily, was a good day. Erik and the others had made cottage pie (going heavy on the meat as Wolf shifters tended to) and it was always a popular choice. Sean still managed to get mashed potato in his hair and Jean stained her brand new shirt with gravy, but otherwise, the rest of the food made it into their mouths.

After dinner and clean-up, which the children were expected to help with, the family retired back to the sitting room. At this point in the evening, the children were allowed to go off on their own but as was typical with Wolves, most of them stayed together in the room to watch TV or read a book. Around 8:00, Raven took her leave, taking one of Charles's old cars and driving off toward whatever club she and her friends were attending tonight. Charles tried not to worry. He didn't see Raven as one of his children, at 19 she was a little old for that, but more as a younger sister. Erik, he knew, thought of her more as a familiar house guest and often told him not to worry so much, but he hadn't been the one put in a cell next to the girl during their stay with Hydra and hadn't bonded so closely with her.

By 8:30, it was time to put Kitty and Sean to bed. Charles rode up the elevator with them to the second floor and got them into their pajamas and all their bathroom needs taken care of. They shared a room—which would change once they grew older, probably in a year or two—so he got them both into bed then read them a quick story. Both of their eyes were closed before he finished.

Charles made his way back down to the sitting room to see that Erik was now tussling on the rug with Alex, Scott, and Anna Marie. It was endearing to see his mate playing with the children with such a careful balance of care and energy, and it was nice to see the pups having so much fun trying to tackle the alpha to the ground. Particularly Alex, who was always so careful about everything he did and often tried to bottle up his emotions and energy rather than exhibit them, which was actually the main cause of his larger outbursts.

Seeing that they were occupied, Charles rolled over to Jean, Armando, and Hank who were talking quietly to each other on the couch. The redheaded girl was leaning into Hank's furry side, the concentrated frown on her lips flipping to a smile when she saw Charles, a light blush on her cheeks. "Dad! Armando just thought of a number in his head and I was able to hear it!"

"Very good, Jean! That is very impressive."

Jean beamed as her grin widened as her blush persisted. "You should try it too!"

Charles blinked in surprise. "Hm? Oh, I'm not sure…" he paused at their hopeful faces. They did love it when either he or Erik showed off their gifts. "Very well. Armando?"

The dark-skinned boy grinned then leaned back against the couch. Charles easily snatched the number from the boy's mind—he was all but shouting it across the room. "Seven. Also, I will gladly give you $10 for a field trip to the aquarium, it sounds like a lovely time."

"How—" Armando gasped, "I had forgotten about that."

"It was tucked just a little bit back, I'm sure it would have come to you eventually." The truth was that Charles knew if he pushed harder, he would probably be able to read more than just surface thoughts, could probably go into someone's memories. It seemed intrusive but also intriguing. Charles just wished he had someone to test the limits of his powers with that didn't have a traumatic background. The last thing he would want to do would be to accidentally dredge up some memory of Hydra.

"Dad, could you read another chapter to us?"

"Hm?" Charles startled out of his thoughts to see Hank holding _The Hobbit_ out toward him. Nighttime reading had always been a constant in their home—Charles had never had it but Erik had vague but precious memories of his mother reading to him as a pup. As it turned out, all their children seemed to enjoy it, and Charles found himself looking forward to the bonding time as well. "Of course! Give me a moment to get situated."

It was always the most comfortable to read to the children when he was on the couch but the move from wheelchair to couch was hardly graceful.

"Let me help you."

Charles looked up to find Erik standing behind him with Scott, Alex, and Anna Marie beside him. "You didn't have to stop playing just to help me."

"They stopped playing as soon as Hank grabbed the book off the side table." _'Let me help you?'_

Nodding, Charles lifted his arms, giving a soft grunt as his mate easily picked him up and deposited him on the couch. He could have made the move on his own, and usually did, but Erik liked to help and Charles had long ago learned that a little help did not necessarily mean any loss to his dignity. Plus it was best to show the children that receiving help was acceptable, even for little things. Once he was situated in the center of the couch, Jean curled up on his right side and Anna Marie on the left. Scott sat next to Jean with Hank at the end, while at the other side Armando and Alex shared a couch cushion.

Charles loved this, being surrounded by the great majority of his family. Taking a second to nuzzle against Anna Marie's hair and squeeze Jean's shoulder, Charles then opened the book. As he began to read, his bond registered that Erik had left the room and gone out to the patio. He paid the action little mind. Every evening the alpha spent a half hour to an hour patrolling the grounds. Since he couldn't Shift, he just ran, completing one or two circuits around the property depending on how riled up he had gotten that day.

'_Charles.'_

'_Charles.'_

Charles blinked his eyes open. He hadn't even realized he had fallen asleep but there he was, book loose in his hands with Jean and Anna Marie both curled over his lap, the boys all dozing as well, piled up on top of each other. It had been Erik's voice in his head, and the omega tilted his head up to see Erik just behind the couch. Sweat had collected on his mate's forehead from his run, but his eyes were soft. _'You fell asleep,'_ the alpha thought.

'_Apparently so. I didn't even think I was that tired.'_

'_It was probably more that the pups were tired.'_

And wasn't that the truth. Charles had found that he could easily absorb other's emotions, in particular if there was physical contact. Which meant that if he happened to be surrounded by six sleepy children, there was a good chance that he would also succumb to sleep. But back to his current situation, _'I would hate to wake them."_

'_The alternative is that you all sleep here for the night.'_

Charles sighed then cleared his throat gently. Immediately, Armando and Scott snapped awake. The girls curled against him tighter as Hank and Alex slowly woke up. "It's time for bed, darlings. Head on up, Vati and I will check on you in a few minutes."

Reluctantly, the children all peeled themselves away from the couch and tottered upstairs toward their respective bedrooms. Meanwhile, Erik moved Charles back into his chair, the two wolves sharing a quick kiss. "The perimeter is safe, I assume?" His tone was teasing but he also knew how important the check was for Erik—it was endearing.

"No sign that anyone breached our territory except for a family of deer."

"Hmm, maybe you'll have to take the children on a tracking lesson sometime soon."

Erik's brows furrowed as he wheeled Charles toward the elevator. "The grounds still stink of another alpha though."

"Poor darling. Though, assuming Agent Rogers refrained from urinating on the lawn, it should dissipate quickly enough." Charles chuckled, taking the opportunity to stretch out the knots that had formed from having napped on the couch and grunting with appreciation as his back cracked just right.

Hearing the sound, Erik grimaced, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Now, yes."

"Good, because I was hoping we might have some time to ourselves since Raven's out."

Charles's eyes widened. "You're right." Well, that certainly changed his plans for the evening. Charles flushed as his body clenched in excitement, dampening his seat with a small spurt of natural lubricant. Damn, and he still had a week until his actual heat hit. "I-I think I might have to skip tucking the children in."

Erik's nostrils flared and when he spoke next, his voice had lowered to a rumble, "I think that might be a good idea." The elevator doors opened onto the second floor. "Go ahead and get comfortable. I'll be in soon."

Nodding, Charles wheeled himself to their suite as Erik walked the other way down the hall to the children's bedrooms. Entering their bedroom, Charles removed his shoes then took care of all the necessities in the en suite bathroom then rolled over to the bed. When he and Erik had returned to Westchester after their stay in SHIELD's hospital, they had immediately gone about making it entirely wheelchair accessible. Perhaps one of the more important changes had been to their bedroom. Erik had taken it upon himself to lower the antique four poster bed by cutting the posts down until the mattress was at the same height as Charles's wheelchair. Charles would have been upset about the bed but each of the rooms had one and the convenience was worth it. Plus, this particular bed had been inherited from a neighbor's garage sale rather than passed down through the Xavier family. They could have gotten another bed but the posts made for easy handholds getting in and out and Charles loved the dark wood and dark, heavy curtains that could close around the bed. It turned their marital bed into a cozy den, which both of them greatly appreciated.

Pursing his lips together, Charles grabbed on to the closest bed post then swung across from his chair to the mattress, ducking his head to avoid the bundled curtains. He landed with a soft bounce then pulled himself up the bed to rest against the pillows. With a single-minded purpose, Charles then kicked off his pants and pulled his sweater up off his head throwing them both over to the open hamper. Next came the socks, undershirt, and boxer shorts before Charles leaned back against the pillows to relax.

And wait.

Erik was certainly taking his time.

Snorting, Charles reached his hand down between his legs and began to rub at his entrance. He bit his lip as he felt slick starting to wet his fingertips, the smell of it reaching his nose not a second later. It didn't smell like much to him, lightly musty perhaps, but it drove Erik wild and if the alpha was going to make him wait, Charles was going to make his mate walk into a wall of the scent.

Charles supposed he should be thankful that his paralysis reached only halfway up his thighs—it meant he could still feel sensations in his sexual organs which was very much appreciated. In fact, just the memory of Erik pushing inside him had him panting lightly and half-hard. He knew at this pace he was going he was going to soak through the bedding before Erik even came into the room. Where on earth was his mate?

Charles did a mental sweep of the manor. The children were all in bed, Erik was in Scott and Alex's room. With a silent apology to the children that he kept to himself, Charles latched onto Erik's mind. _'Erik.'_ Charles paused as he felt the alpha stiffen to attention and in lieu of words sent a mental picture of his current predicament.

Not five seconds later, the alpha was pushing open the door, the lean Wolf stumbling back a step at what must have been at this point a heady smell. "Charles," the omega would have called it a gasp but the tone was far too low.

"There you are. If you would be so kind as to come over here right now-"

Erik cut him off with a growl and all but pounced on the bed. Their mouths met as Erik hung over Charles, both of their hands moving to pull off the man's clothing. His shirt was ripped off, pants unzipped then shoved down to his ankles. Erick bit at Charles's collarbone and kicked his shoes then pants onto the floor, soothing bites with his tongue as Charles arched underneath him. After another press of lips, Charles pushed at Erik, easing him away just enough to whimper, "Erik, let turn me over."

Erik jerked out a nod, nuzzling at the omega's cheek, nose tracing his jawline before he gave the skin there a quick lick then pushed himself upright. Charles rolled over onto his stomach and then braced himself onto his elbows and used his upper thighs to drag his knees up. Erik helped stabilize his position, putting pillows under his stomach and making sure his knees were placed solidly enough to hold up to the stress. Once Charles was in proper position, Erik plastered himself over his mate's back, burying his nose into the nape of his neck and opening his mouth to drink in Charles's scent. "You're mine. You will always be mine. My precious omega."

Charles tried to buck back, to get Erik inside him, but when the other held him in place, he could only release a high-pitched whine in the back of his throat, "Erik, please."

"Say it."

"God's sake. Of course I'm yours, only yours. Why would I ever want anyone else, ah-!" Charles gasped when Erik finally entered him with one strong thrust, the noise turning to a drawn out moan. He arched his back to pull more of Erik in, whimpering as Erik began to thrust into him with real purpose. His natural slick ensured a pain-free coupling and all Charles knew was the pleasure flaring between their bond and the feeling of Erik's thick length pistoning into him. He wished they were in heat already, he wanted Erik's knot. The thought must have channeled across their bond because Erik snarled and bit at the back of Charles's neck, holding him in place as he thrust faster.

Charles felt his body go loose at the bite, all of him burning. A few more minutes of bliss and then Charles hummed as he felt Erik begin to circle his hips, thrusts shallowing out, signaling he was close to his release. When Erik grabbed for his hands and pushed into him hard one last time, Charles clenched down. Erik grunted and came hard, his release triggering Charles whose release spattered the pillow underneath him.

They had both learned to be quieter during sex so as not to wake the children. Charles supposed he should consider himself lucky that, as an omega, his ejaculation had only about a tenth of Erik's volume, and incidentally about half of a normal human male's volume. Less mess that way. Humming in contentment, Charles allowed Erik to manhandle him onto his side, the two of them still connected as the omega's eyes fluttered closed. Good sex always tired him out, and he quickly drifted to sleep to the sensation of Erik carding his fingers through his hair.

O~O~O~O~O

There were men over him, humans.

They had scalpels and other instruments in their hands and were leaning over him, pressing the tools into his skin. He could feel every cut but he couldn't cry out. He was trapped—tied down like some sacrifice on a cold steel table and they were _hurting_ him.

In every corner of the room Shifters young and old and _babies_ were dying and he could feel them all, could hear their thoughts, as they suffered through their last breaths.

It echoed through his head. He could _hear_ it—god, why could he _hear_ it?!

Why couldn't he shift?!

Why couldn't he move…?!

Blood, fear, pain, cold, help.

_Someone help!_

"—Charles!"

Charles's eyes shot open, blind and unseeing as he fought to curl in on himself. Hands were on him then, and he started to calm only when he realized they were helping him move, drawing his legs up, bundling him up in a warm ball of protection.

Erik.

Charles realized he was shaking when his alpha ran a hand down his arm then laced their fingers together.

Warm lips touched the back of his neck, followed by a rumbling whisper, "Shh, shh, _alles ist gut, Liebling_. I have you."

"E-Erik."

"I have you. They can't hurt us anymore."

"Oh, Erik…" The dream had shattered but the terror of the memories remained. Tears were falling freely down his cheeks as he continued to shudder. Words bubbled past his lips, "I want to Shift. I want to move my legs. I want, I want so badly to carry your pup. It's not fair. It's not fair. It's not fair."

Erik whined low at his mate's distress then kissed Charles's wavy hair and drew their interlocked fingers down to press over Charles's stomach.

They stayed like that for a long while, with Erik's lean frame curled around Charles, holding him tight against him. Finally, Charles's tears subsided and he moved a little, nestling back further against the alpha and giving a damp sniff, croaked out, "I suppose I had a bit of a moment there…"

"That meeting today brought up things better forgotten. I knew we shouldn't have talked about it."

Hearing the snarl in his voice, Charles squeezed Erik's hand. "It wasn't their fault and it's not as if that was the last we will ever need to talk about, about Hydra." Charles swallowed before his eyes widened, "I didn't project any of that, did I?"

"No," Erik nuzzled the back of his neck, his hand tightening as he tried to calm his mate. "I felt the distress but that was it."

Shaking his head, Charles nevertheless did a mental sweep of the rest of the manor though his mind was still too rattled for him to dare to do anything more than just touch at their thoughts. The children were all in bed, still asleep. Both Jean and Alex felt a little restless, no longer in REM sleep, but they were still sleeping peacefully enough. Charles let out a breath. He would never forgive himself if his thoughts ever caused any of the children to relive that torment.

Pulling back from his thoughts, Charles settled back against Erik again. "They're all asleep."

"Good." Erik began slowly stroking Charles's stomach, the petting easing the last vestiges of the nightmare away.

The helplessness they had all felt at Hydra's laboratory had been all-consuming. They all still had nightmares from it, even Erik—especially Erik, who had had the misfortune to bond to an omega in those conditions—and the only thing to be done was to feel the emotions until they faded again. It always helped Charles immensely to have Erik there, to have his alpha's scent surrounding him.

And now that the terror was over, his adrenaline was still up and more comfort sounded good. "Erik, I think I would like you to fuck me right now."

Erik grunted and Charles smiled a little when he smelt a wave of pheromones roll off his mate followed by a soft bite to the crook of his neck where Erik had left his mating mark. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, it sounds nice."

Charles heard Erik snort and then the alpha had pushed him onto his back and rolled on top of him, nestling his legs between Charles's. Seeing traces of uncertainty still in those gray eyes—Erik was always so earnestly protective of him, and an omega's tears were biologically wired to kill an alpha's libido—Charles pulled him down for a kiss. It was a slow press of lips and small, loving bites and when they pulled away for air, Charles bumped his forehead against Erik. "You will always be the one good thing about that place, my fierce alpha."

Erik stiffened then surged down for another kiss, this one more a clashing of mouths as they pulled comfort from each other. As soon as he knew Erik was on board with the idea, Charles let him control the kiss. He hated to fulfill stereotypes, but he had realized long ago that he did love being taken care of in bed, to be submissive. With Erik, he could wholeheartedly embrace his instincts, because Erik was his mate, and there were very few relationships outside of Wolf Shifter pairings that could reflect the depth of devotion and security of that bond. Erik was the water he drank, the food he ate, the air he breathed, and nothing but death would pull them apart.

Except, perhaps, for their children. Charles pulled away from Erik's lips, much to the other's displeasure, when he sensed a presence running quickly toward their room. He had just enough time to snatch the covers from where they had gathered around their legs and pull them up to their chests as Jean threw the door open to their room. The red-headed beta had tears in her eyes as she scrambled over to their bed. Charles immediately lifted off the comforter for her to climb in above the top sheet. The layer of fabric separated the girl from their naked bodies, which wasn't completely necessary for Wolves, but Charles had been brought up in a proper household and some things were hard to shake.

As Jean curled up against Charles, Erik leaned over to check the girl for injuries, brow furrowed as Charles cooed, "Shh, it's okay. What's the matter, Jean?" Charles was worried that she actually had absorbed some of his dream but then she pressed her forehead against his collarbone and he frowned, "You're burning up!"

"I don't feel good…!"

Charles hummed in sympathy, about to offer comfort when Jean suddenly lurched to the edge of the bed and threw up all over their wooden floor. "Erik!"

Immediately, Erik swept her up and ran to their connected bathroom, getting her to the toilet just in time for her to throw up again. From the bed, Charles winced in sympathy as he slipped on his underwear that he scrounged from the floor and swung into his wheelchair. Steering around from the vomit on the floor, Charles made it to the bathroom to find Erik holding Jean's hair back with one hand and rubbing her back with the other.

Charles motioned Erik to hand her over and his mate dutifully moved Jean onto Charles's lap. He made sure to sit right in front of the toilet, but it looked as if she was done for the moment. Accepting a cup of water from Erik, Charles leaned forward to offer it to Jean, his free hands wrapping around her waist to gently rub her stomach. "Wash your mouth out and spit into the toilet, love. There we go, you're okay."

Whimpering, Jean leaned back against Charles in a miserable, shuddering mess. Charles cooed again and reached up to the sink to wet a washcloth, pushing a thought toward Erik as he did, _'Could you go make sure she didn't throw up on her bed? It looks like she'll be here for a while.'_

Erik nodded and left the bathroom. Charles took the time to wipe down Jean's forehead and let his calm wash over her. He let her relax for a few minutes then asked gently, "Are you feeling better?"

Jean nodded and Charles relaxed enough to lean back in the wheelchair. It took a lot to get a Shifter adult sick but Shifter children, like Human children, were more susceptible to illness. Charles tried to remember back to dinner. Now that he thought about it, Jean hadn't finished her plate, but she seemed well enough that evening. A thought occurred to him. "Did reading Armando's mind make you feel sick afterward?"

Jean curled tighter against him. "My stomach hurt before that, but my head hurt a little after that. Tommy had to go home early today because he got sick during lunch though…"

Probably a mix of a stomach bug and a headache then. Charles only (desperately) hoped that the rest of the children hadn't caught the illness too. It was never fun when the manor became a sick house.

"Charles." The omega looked up to see Erik back in the doorway, pajama pants now on. _'Jean's bed is still clean and Anna Marie seems to have slept through the whole thing.'_

"Thank you, Erik. Now, Jean, do you feel well enough for some sleep?" When the girl nodded, Charles smiled. "Alright, well, why don't you come to bed with Vati and me?" That way if Jean threw up again, she wouldn't disturb the other children.

Jean nodded and Charles wheeled them back into the bedroom. Erik had indeed cleaned up the vomit on the floor and had even set up an emergency bag. Charles sent him an appreciative look then set Jean on the edge of the bed and pulled himself onto the mattress as well. Erik made sure they were both situated before he crawled in behind his mate, letting out a low breath before he pressed his lips to the back of Charles's neck. _'Go ahead and sleep, Liebling. I'll watch over Jean.'_

'_Thank you, darling.'_ The day had been a long one, and as tomorrow (or today, as it was now very early in the morning), was a weekend, it was only bound to be busier. Charles would have protested being the one allowed to sleep, but the reality was that Charles was a former professor and Erik was an ex-military/occasional SHIELD agent trained to function with sleep deprivation. He would be fine. With a soft sigh, Charles settled down and pulled Jean close, burying his nose into her hair. She smelt sick now, but it would be good to make sure she did not get any worse throughout the night.

O~O~O~O~O

Charles woke up to birds chirping outside the window and a face full of red hair. Sensing nothing but air behind him, Charles did a quick mental scan to find Erik downstairs in the kitchen, Sean and Armando with him.

Jean was still asleep, and Charles scented her to find that she while she hadn't gotten any worse, she would probably be spending the day in bed or on a couch.

Letting her sleep, Charles wiggled away from her and out of bed. He took a moment in the bathroom to get dressed and put himself together then left the room. The air outside their bedroom smelled fresh and clean—they would have to air their bedroom out after they moved Jean out—and Charles pulled in a deep breath as he made his way to the elevator.

Downstairs, things were a little more lively as Erik got breakfast ready. Today seemed like it was going to be an egg and sausage bake, and Erik was just sliding it into the oven as Charles entered the kitchen. Armando was at the sink washing dishes and Sean had been given a dishrag and was attempting to dry an aluminum mixing bowl.

Erik sent Charles an amused look. _'We seem to have another invalid in the house.'_

'_Did someone else catch Jean's stomach ache?'_

'_Raven passed out in the sitting room last night. Apparently both the stairs and the elevator seemed too complicated to manage. She's probably asleep still, but she's going to have a bad hangover.'_

"The poor dear." Charles remembered a few of his own hangovers from back in his wilder college days. It took a lot to get a Shifter drunk, but if they did manage it, the amount of alcohol they would have had to consume usually always meant a raging hangover the next day. "Well, maybe she and Jean can spend the day on the couch and watch old movies."

"I was thinking something along the same lines."

"Maybe we can get everyone else out of the house for a while then. Armando, how does the farmer's market sound to you?"

Armando looked up from the dishes, the ten-year-old smiling brightly. "Great! Could we stop at the playground?"

Charles smiled, "We could probably manage that." The Westchester county farmer's market was massive with over 80 stalls. It popped up in the town center every Saturday and happened to be adjacent to the city's main park, which had a creek, soccer and baseball fields, and a playground. It would definitely keep them busy for a few hours at least.

It took very little to convince Raven to stay in for the day to look after Jean. After breakfast, Erik brought Jean down to join Raven on the couch. He and Charles set the two up with appropriate medications, crackers and water, and over a dozen movies to choose from. Jean was only slightly put out to be left behind, but she liked Raven well enough and demanded only that they bring her back something sweet.

As they began to gather the rest of the children together, Charles turned to Hank, "As always, you are free to come with us if you'd like."

A hint of a smile twitched onto Hank's lips but he shook his head. "Not today, thanks."

"Alright." Charles paused then smiled. "Actually, Hank, I was wondering if you might do me a favor?" When the teenager nodded, Charles continued, "Vati and I were hoping to sign you up for some online courses soon. I was hoping that you might take a look at some of the high school and college courses listed online and come up with a list of classes that might be interesting for you?"

"Of course!" Hank's ears had perked up with excitement, "I'd be happy to."

"Thank you. Now, we'll probably be gone for a few hours. I'm not asking you to look after Raven and Jean, but I would appreciate it if you peeked in on them once or twice while we're away." Charles waited until Hank nodded again before he said his goodbyes and left the house with Erik and the rest of the children.

They took the largest van which just squeezed in all eight of them. It was also one of the few wheelchair-accessible vehicles that they had, which meant that, although Charles was sitting in back with the children, they didn't have to go through the awkward transfer of wheelchair to car seat. He just rolled in through the back door and buckled the seat in. Without Raven and Hank, at twelve-years-old Scott was the oldest and eagerly took his place in the front passenger's seat. His sunglasses were firmly in place, a constant presence when they were outside. Though he was firmly stuck in human form, Scott's Wolf senses were now always in high gear, leaving him hypersensitive to sounds, light, and smells. His eyes were also permanently Wolf gold and clearly inhuman. The sight unnerved both Humans and Shifters so Scott usually just kept them hidden.

The drive into town was always a little long, but Charles enjoyed listening to the children chatter about everything under the sun. Soon, the landscape changed from the rolling hills of the Westchester estates to the more suburban neighborhoods that clustered around the town center. By the time they actually reached the farmer's market, the children were nearly vibrating in their seats.

Erik had barely put the car in park when Alex had pried open the side door and was clambering outside with Darwin and Anna Marie close behind. Scott was hot on their heels as they tumbled across the green lawn of the town square, pushing and shoving each other. Kitty and Sean stuck closer to Charles as Erik helped him out of the van and Sean hopped onto his lap as soon as his wheels hit pavement. Charles didn't mind—he enjoyed it when the children insisted on cuddling.

The farmer's market was in full swing by the time they reached it. Charles was content to let Erik roll him along, closing his eyes as he tightened his telepathy around their bond. If he allowed it to relax and spread out as he did when they were at home, the results would be too overwhelming. That had been a hard lesson, learned while still in Hydra. Erik's steadiness had saved him then, the alpha's mind a cave in a tumultuous storm, a safe place he could curl up and hide. Here, in the farmer's market, the thoughts were far less tortured but Charles knew from experience that he should keep himself closed off if he wanted to avoid a vicious migraine. Still, even with his telepathic abilities limited, going out into the public was nice. It was good for him and Erik, and especially the children, to make sure to get out and socialize with the general public.

Opening his eyes at as a delicious scent hit his nose, Charles perked up in his chair. "Oh, the bakery is out today! It's time for lunch, isn't it?"

Erik chuckled, but wheeled his chair over to the table and its trays of pastries and rolls. "I should have known. Alright, kids? What do you want as a snack?"

Immediately, Charles's chair and the table was surrounded by grabbing hands and hungry mouths. Between Charles, Erik, and the vendor, they were able to control the chaos and soon everyone had something and Erik was handing the woman behind the table a bill, keep the change for her troubles. Charles balanced Sean onto one thigh, the toddler trying to inhale an orange roll, and nibbled appreciatively on his currant scone. It might be a British cliché to get the scone but this bakery was the only place in town who sold them and Hank had yet to completely master the delicate science of baking.

Erik pushed him with one hand as he enjoyed a pretzel, his Gift helping to stabilize the wheelchair as they continued to move through the stalls. The children were darting this way and that. Alex and Scott were investigating a stall selling honey and honeycomb, Darwin was across the way looking through a box of old toys and games for sale, and Anna Marie and Kitty were two booths down testing different types of cheese. Seeing that the girls were eating something else, Sean jumped off Charles's lap to join them.

He and Erik tried to stay in the middle of the children, keeping an eye on them as they enjoyed the market themselves. Charles had gotten used to the stares he sometimes got. Most of the stares were full of harmless curiosity, it was the occasional disgruntled or disturbed looks that riled Erik up.

Erik rolled the omega over to the stall Darwin was at. Stacked above the old toys was a collection of old books and Charles brightened at the sight of them, quickly finishing off his scone before he reached for one of the titles. Erik watched the other children as his mate became occupied, frowning when he noticed that Alex and Scott were beginning to argue.

Charles noted in the back of his mind as Erik left his side but allowed himself to peruse the collection for a moment or two. The book he had picked up was a copy of Grimm fairy tales from the 1950s. Maybe it would be a good book to read to the children? Charles was always on the lookout and preferred the classics. Humming lightly, Charles set the book on his lap then turned to Armando, "Have you found anything you'd like? We can get you something small since I'm getting us something as well."

Armando grinned and held up a board game he had yanked out from the bottom of the toy pile. "Can I get this one? It makes you do stuff like pretend to be an animal or draw something to move your pieces around."

Charles took the game from the boy, giving it a quick once-over before he nodded. "It looks like an excellent game for our family, good job finding it."

Armando puffed up a little with pride at the praise. The young beta was a born team player and loved to help around the house. Charles could already tell he would become invaluable as Hank in helping with the family once he got a little older.

They paid for their purchases and Armando volunteered to carry the bag, taking it without hesitation from the vendor. They turned around to find Erik carrying Alex under his arm like a football, the eight-year-old squirming and scowling but otherwise relaxed. Scott was standing on Erik's other side, sullen, and Erik rolled his eyes at Charles's questioning glance. "They got in a fight."

Charles shook his head. It didn't really matter what the fight was about, when the Summers boys got into the wrong mood, they would fight over anything. "We should go find some place to let everyone cool off and exercise a bit, and go on appropriate time outs." Turning, Charles spotted Anna Marie and Sean. Alex and Scott were with Erik. Armando was beside him. Which meant, "…Erik, where's Kitty?"

Erik immediately lifted his head, gaze intense as he scanned the crowds. Feeling a sense of dread chill his stomach, Charles sniffed the air even though he knew it was useless since Kitty's scent signatures had been erased by Hydra. He would be able to hear it if Kitty started calling for him, but sending out his telepathy would just be painful. But one of his babies was missing. "Erik…!"

"She couldn't have gone too far. I'll take Anna Marie. Scott, take Darwin and Alex. Charles, take Sean. We'll split up. Meet by the play structure in ten minutes. We'll find her."

Charles pulled Sean onto his lap and nodded, taking deep breaths to keep calm as the others left in different directions. Running his hands through the boy's red hair, he asked, "Did you see where Kitty went, darling?"

Sean pursed his lips, the three-year-old deep in thought before he nodded, "She saw some ducks on the other side of all the tables. Is she in trouble?"

"Only a little, Sean." A creek ran just off to the side of the farmer's markets, down a small embankment. It made sense there would have been ducks. But there were still so many people here and any one of them could be a possible predator for a lone, four-year-old girl. It was also possible that she may have gotten distracted and headed elsewhere but that was why Scott and Erik were also searching.

He quickly rolled around the tables and to the strip of green that sloped downward to the water. He couldn't quite see the creek so he grit his teeth and steered his wheelchair onto the grass. It wasn't meant for traveling over uneven surfaces, but if Kitty was down there then that was where he was going. Finding a point in the embankment that looked like the gentlest slope, and going back up was going to be a nightmare, Charles carefully steered himself onto the grass. It was lucky he had been in the wheelchair for a while now and had developed some arm strength—if he had tried this a few months ago, he would have exhausted himself after the first few feet.

As it was, he was still relieved to see a packed gravel walkway by the edge of the river, which was enough to make his life a good deal easier. And sure enough, there was Kitty about a few yards forward but instead of relief, he felt only dread at the sight of a grown man beside her, an arm wrapped around her shoulder as she watched a family of ducks swimming in the creek. Parental instincts flaring, Charles called out, "Kitty! There you are, I've been looking all over for you. Come over here, now."

Kitty had perked up at the sound of his voice and pointed to him, saying something to the man before pulling away from his grasp. Charles opened his arms and she jumped onto his lap. With an offended gasp as she crowded his space, Sean crawled up to Charles's shoulders, wrapping his hands around Charles's head as the man sauntered over. He was tall and broad-shouldered with short-cropped blond hair and Charles frowned when he the distinct musk of alpha hit his nose, though he eased his expression into a bland smile by the time the man reached them.

The man was smiling, "She yours?"

"Yes. Thank you for keeping an eye on her, I do appreciate it."

"It's no trouble. I didn't know for sure she was a Shifter but I'm glad I stuck it out now that I know she had such an adorable mother."

Charles had a difficult time maintaining his polite apathy but managed somehow. It wasn't so strange to get a reaction from alphas, though usually it was only thought and not articulated since Erik was generally not more than two feet from him. As it was, it should be obvious that he was already mated, if for no other reason than he had children climbing all over him. It would be best just to finish this conversation as quickly as possible. "Well, in any case, thank you again for watching her. I was quite frantic when she ran off, so it is such a relief to see her safe and sound."

His hands went to his wheels to begin rolling away but the man stepped closer, blocking the rest of the gravel path. Leaning down, the man crowded into his space. Charles was only slightly intimidated, but more than that he was grateful Erik wasn't with him. His mate would have killed this alpha already, even more so as the man rumbled. "I think I deserve a little bit more than a thank you, don't you? _Give me a kiss_."

Charles stiffened as the man used his Alpha tone, the one that demanded obedience. It probably made most Betas and Omegas fold immediately, but Charles had been through too much bullshit in his life to be swayed by a sub-par alpha who thinks he can force his way into people's pants. Closing his eyes for a moment, Charles collected himself then opened his eyes. "I would rather not, if it's all the same to you." The alpha looked stumped, understandably so since Charles had just willfully defied his command. "My mate would be terribly upset, you see. Now, if you would excuse me."

"I'm not done. You will stay exactly where you are."

Charles shook his head, smiling pleasantly. "I'm sorry, I really must go." The alpha was frowning at this point and took an aggressive step forward, making Kitty and Sean gasp and Charles's hand flew to his temple. Opening his telepathy just for a second, he shoved a thought into the man's head as hard as he could. _'You will stay put until we are out of your sight.'_

The man froze and Charles shakily lowered his hand. The man really wasn't moving.

Charles swallowed, starting when Kitty grabbed at his shirt, "Dad…?"

Sucking in his breath, Charles ran a hand down her arm then gripped the wheels of his chair. "It's alright." Carefully, he turned the chair around. After they were a good distance away, Charles finally let himself start to calm down, "Kitty you know better than to run off like that."

"Sorry, Daddy," she whispered, pressing her face into his shirt as Charles started up the gentle slope he had found.

Charles nodded, taking the apology for what it was, sweat beading on his forehead by the time he made it back up the embankment. Taking a moment to shake out his arms, Charles tapped Sean on the knee and smiled, relieved to have all of his children accounted for again. "Come on, we're meeting the others at the playground."

The others were already gathered at the playground and Erik marched over to meet them as they approached. "You found her."

Charles hummed happily, watching as Erik swept Kitty up in his arms to check for injuries. He hoped his mate wouldn't smell any trace of the Alpha. Certainly, Charles was going to tell him about the incident, but he was going to wait until they got home. Luckily, Erik didn't scent her too closely, setting her back onto the ground after only a moment and nudging her toward the other children. Charles sent Sean along too, tilting his head as his mate asked, "Where was she?"

"Down by the river, chasing ducklings. She's alright."

"Are you alright?" Reaching down, Erik cupped Charles's cheek, "You seem upset."

"We had a bit of an adventure but I'll tell you about that later. At the moment, though, I'm just happy to have them all in sight."

Erik snorted, letting his hand rest at the back of Charles's neck as they watched Alex almost kick Anna Marie in the face as they tried to climb a play structure, Scott and Darwin getting competitive on the swings, and Sean toddling up the slide backwards. Playgrounds were a recipe for disaster. "Why did we agree this was a good idea?"

Charles chuckled, leaning back into his alpha's touch. "I don't know if we ever did determine that it was a _good_ idea, but it certainly was the right one. They're all so darling and this one of the best ways we could have helped them."

Nodding, Erik's eyes narrowed. "I just wish we could have done more to get back at those bastards."

"Erik." The omega's voice was only gently admonishing since none of the children were really within hearing range. "But now that you mention it, I have been thinking that maybe we should reach out to SHIELD." At Erik's incredulous stare, Charles rolled his eyes, "They're not that bad, and I think we might have skills that can help other Shifters. I don't have anything concrete in mind yet but it's something to think about. You'll at least give it some serious thought, won't you?"

Erik frowned but leaned down and pressed a kiss to Charles's temple. "Only for you."

Charles smiled and tilted his head up to peck his mate's chin. He knew Erik would give it serious thought now. Charles was confident that they would be able to help others beyond their children and that SHIELD was probably the best avenue to make that happen. And if they could help in even the smallest way, not even anything as extraordinary as what Agent Rogers and Mr. Stark had done, then he would be content.


End file.
